Tribal violence in India's Assam state kills 11

Heavily armed militant group stage night raids on Muslim villages

May 2, 2014

Tribal separatists killed at least 11 Muslims when they raided villages in India's remote northeastern state of Assam, opening fire on victims as they slept in their homes, police said Friday.

Eight people, including four women and three children, were killed in one attack in Kokrajhar district, about 220 kilometers (140 miles) west of Assam's main city of Guwahati. The three others died in a separate attack in the neighbouring Baksa district, said a senior police officer.

"In both the incidents heavily-armed militants of the outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) fired indiscriminately with automatic weapons, killing 11 people on the spot and injuring four more," S.N. Singh, Assam's Inspector General of Police, told AFP.

Survivors of the attack in Kokrajhar described how a group of around 20 masked gunmen had carried out the killings late on Thursday night.